Realizations
by Dilanith
Summary: When Aang kissed her on that submarine, Katara felt many things, but most of all, she was taken by surprise.


Much time has passed since I published my last oneshot, but here we go. No long introduction needed. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaim: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

* * *

Katara felt very... taken aback when she watched Aang fly off to fight the Firelord. She never, ever had spent a thought on him possibly having a crush on her or, more than that, being in love with her. Of course, there had been the Cave of Two Lovers and the one time when Sokka had teased the young Avatar about liking his sister. But these small events she had never considered serious; in retrospect, they almost seemed like funny, sweet memories to her.

But now, with Aang having kissed her, it was very real, and also serious. She was standing there on that submarine, utterly surprised and a little shocked, too. He had kissed her, and she had, after a brief moment of disorientation, responded by leaning in. That's what you do when you are kissed after all, isn't it? It had felt natural to Katara to respond to his kiss, though she couldn't tell if that had been what she felt like _doing_. Which, after all, made a difference. Then, it had also been her first kiss – and that was something special. She half-unconciously took a mental side-note that this special event had happened on this very day and that she now couldn't call herself an unkissed girl anymore.

These were only less important aspects though. The main phrase that screamed in her head from the very moment on she had blinked hastily and realized that Aang was kissing her, was _Aang is kissing me_. And then, when he broke the kiss, looked into her eyes and suddenly flew off, that phrase changed to _He is in love with me_. Neither one comprised a jugdement, no; the opposite was the case: The words screamed vocally in her head, but completely neutrally. It was more of a realization, a discovery in a way. Katara could not think about, let alone decide whether it was a good or a bad thing that Aang, apparently, was in love with her. She had not in the least bit expected his actions because she had not even put them into consideration as a possible outcome of their good-bye talk. She simply was too surprised.

So when he broke the kiss and looked at her, all she could do was blink because it had so utterly taken her by surprise. Then he got off into the air and she hastily turned around, her hair jumping in the move, and she watched him.

 _That's my best friend, my best friend just kissed me, he just kissed me, Aang just kissed me, Aang kissed me, I kissed him back, we kissed, my first kiss, we kissed, WE KISSED!_

Her heart pounded hard and the blood was rushing through her veins so loudly she could hear it whoosh in her ears.

If this had taken place on another day in another place, he certainly wouldn't have flewn off but stayed right in front of her. They would have looked at each other; he, trying to read her and find out whether she was happy he had kissed her, she, eyes wide open... well, what would she have said?

Sokka called for her in the instance she was still trying to get a hold of the fact that Aang had kissed her. She switched back to reality, jumped off the submarine and went into war.

Although she had no real sensation about this personal affair yet, she knew she would get one later because the invasion would sooner or later come to an end (either way, she was positive that Aang would make it out there alive) which meant the time would come she had to think about this new situation between them.

Katara became more pensive in the back of her head and a little cramped in the pit of her heart. She didn't spend a thought on the kiss during the hours she fought, but was happening around her was like a screen. She had her concentration on it, but she felt differently. She couldn't define what she was feeling, but then, she also didn't have the time to do so. She knew that when Aang was going to come back, a lot would have changed between them.

And so it was. When she was kneeling down with her father and friends to discuss further actions and she saw Aang flying towards them while trying to avoid missiles, her chest tightened for a second. Then, when he landed in front of them and they looked into each other's eyes, she knew what it was. It was a new knowledge. The knowledge that he loved her. And the knowledge of his was that, different from before, he knew that now also _she_ knew that he loved her. Everything had changed because now there was the aspect of love, romantic love, brought up as a serious topic which would have to be considered, all possible outcomes included. They both knew that eventually, they were going to address this whole thing, just not now. It was an unspoken knowledge they exchanged with serious glances while talking about a completely different thing with their friends. While their eyes were serious trying to figure out a desperate plan to survive the rest of the invasion, there was a certain fondness in their eyes each time they looked at each other. It felt like an unspoken, yet unspoken, dialogue.

 _Aang..._

 _Yes. Yes, I did kiss you._

 _I... What..._

For a brief moment, Katara wondered what she would say to him once they were going to talk about it, but then turned her attention back to the events around her.

There would be time for personal matters.

Just... not now.


End file.
